


till the moon has taken flight (to the waters and the wild)

by WindyRein



Series: Dashboard Confessions [13]
Category: Faerie Folklore, Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fae, Child Neglect, Developing Relationship, Drabble Collection, Experimental Style, Fae & Fairies, Fae Stiles Stilinski, Flashbacks, How Do I Tag, I Blame Tumblr, I Don't Even Know, I Tried, M/M, Non-Linear Narrative, POV Alternating, POV Peter Hale, POV Stiles Stilinski, Peter Hale Feels, Peter Hale Needs a Hug, Poetry, Pre-Canon, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, Slow To Update, The winter court, What Was I Thinking?, Why Did I Write This?, but not in the way you think, prose
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-03
Updated: 2019-03-15
Packaged: 2019-03-26 12:18:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 1,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13857639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WindyRein/pseuds/WindyRein
Summary: It's not fair! But he knows already that life isn't fair, doesn't he? He can feel the bitter smile curling his lips.He, if there is such a thing anymore, floats and is torn apart and doesn't exist. (but that would be kind, wouldn't it?)





	1. First Impressions

**Author's Note:**

> So, here's something weird. And experimental. And my first chaptered thing on ao3 that's not finished. (yet. i hope.) :D  
> Born from [this little not-fic thing on tumblr](http://poutingtrolltroll.tumblr.com/post/164493640370/poutingtrolltroll-now-i-wanna-write-that-steter) that's entirely [Mysenia's](http://mysenia.tumblr.com/) fault.
> 
> Title from [The Stolen Child](https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/stolen-child) because of course it is :D
> 
> Here's to me not fucking up everything Fae. Hope you enjoy :)

**Then...**

***

Once upon a time, the Queen had a King.

Once upon a myth, Winter was soft and playful.

Once upon a secret, the Queen's General was thrown in the dungeons.

*

It's all he can think about. (is he even thinking?)

He, if there is such a thing anymore, floats and is torn apart and doesn't exist. (but that would be kind, wouldn't it?)

What he was is pain. What he was is nothing. What he was is loyal.

********

**Now.**

***

Peter's walking in the preserve because Talia's having "Alpha Lessons" and he's so very angry and bitter that he can't learn whatever it is Talia is being taught. _You're not Alpha Heir, Peter, why would you need to learn?_

Well, maybe he'd want to know so he could backup his sister. Maybe he wants to be Alpha one day. Maybe he wants a pack of his own. Maybe he wants people who would see just him and not the accidental, fall-of-his-parents'-lives baby everyone else from packmates to visitors sees. And what if Talia dies? What then?

It's not fair! But he knows already that life isn't fair, doesn't he? He can feel the bitter smile curling his lips. Life has never been fair to him, always an afterthought. Always an "oh, what are we going to do with you?". His eyes prickle but he refuses to cry, has refused ever since Babuška died. It's not like it helps in anything.

He walks and walks until he starts shivering and then he turns home.

(the next morning the ground is white  with the first snow in years)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Missed tags are appreciated and reviews are loved. :)
> 
> Babuška meaning grandmother in Russian.
> 
> Also, if someone wants to tell me what's with me hurting one or both of these boys, I'd like that :D
> 
> Also, also, if you have any ideas/comments/requests on what could happen, I'd love to hear those since I'm having slight problems figuring out where to take this :D
> 
> (alsox3, i'm on [tumblr](http://poutingtrolltroll.tumblr.com/) if you're interested. sometimes i even post writing updates.)


	2. Second Thoughts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What did all the pain matter when he knew he would do anything to keep them alive?  
> Not-him not-thinks "I would do nothing different".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, _I know_ I tagged this as "Slow to Update" but in my defence this was already written when I published Chapter 1 :D
> 
> And a note for this chapter and possibly future ones: The Faery being the entirety of the realm/dimension/universe/whatever-you-wanna-call-it where the Fae live, and a somewhat sentient realm at that, I think. (look at me stealing ideas from [frostiron fics](https://archiveofourown.org/series/55494) xD)

**Then...**

***

Once upon a dream, the Queen had looked at him, cold and distant and dismissive.

Once upon a rebellion, the Queen had been gone.

Once upon a failure, he'd been thrown in the dungeons, the King's voice claiming eternity.

*

Not-him not-thinks "I would do nothing different".

Not-him not-wonders how long it's been in the Faery.

Not-him not-sees not-light.

**************

**Now.**

***

He'd grown to hide the pain, had grown to brush off the casual cruelty of his family. What did it matter if Talia treated him like one of her pups, when he was about to leave for college? What did it matter that Laura had picked up on her mother's condescension and started trying to order him around, when he wouldn't need to ever follow her?

What did all the pain matter when he knew he would do anything to keep them alive?

*

College was... fun, he supposed. The people didn't know him or accuse him of trying to manipulate them, except sometimes when he was obvious about it and even then they laughed, not with derision but something more joyful, while calling him out.

New York was also significantly different compared to sleepy Beacon Hills. He loved it. Loved the crush of people that didn't know him. Loved that there were actual seasons.  Loved that nobody cared that he was the "accidental Hale" if they even knew. Loved, especially, that none of the Alphas in the city tried to get to Talia through him because, well, what did they care about a pack on the other side of the country even if it was old for Westerners?

(in his last year he meets gloria of the amber eyes and playful smirks)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Missed tags are appreciated and reviews are loved. :)
> 
> Also, ideas and suggestions are still welcome since I have no idea what I'm actually doing :D
> 
> (also, still on [tumblr](http://poutingtrolltroll.tumblr.com/) if you wanna see me whining about how writing is hard and not actually writing but diving into other stuff instead)


	3. Third Time's the Charm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Misses, he supposes, the hope that maybe he'd have a happy life.  
> The stories tell of a General imprisoned and forgotten.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp. Here we are again. Have fun with this while I try to figure out what I want out of chapter five, never mind anything beyond that.

**Then...**

***

The stories tell of a rebellion, a rebellion of the Traitor.

The stories tell of a General imprisoned and forgotten.

The stories tell of the Queen's Wrath and how the General had been Executioner.

*

The War turned Winter cold and ruthless.

The War killed everyone but those Blizzard at heart.

The War took a toll on Noble and peasant alike.

********

**Now.**

***

After New York, Beacon Hills bores him out of his skull. He misses Gloria. Misses the mischief and chaos that had seemed to follow her like a lost puppy. Misses the pranks they'd pull on Peter's friends and each other.

Misses, he supposes, the hope that maybe he'd have a happy life. But Gloria was like the wind or a storm, something that couldn't be held down. Something that swept you away with it and left you changed at the end. No, not wind or storm. They were too kind. More like a hurricane that ripped you from your roots and deposited you somewhere completely new and completely changed, and you just had to deal with the consequences.

Beacon Hills held nothing but pain and duty and being taken for granted _(and boredom. so much boredom.)_ but he can't leave. His pack needs him and as much as it hurts, he does love them all. Loves Talia even when she doesn't listen to him. Loves his mother even when she looks at him like he's a disappointment. Loves his father even when he tells him that he doesn't know what to do with Peter. Loves Laura and Derek and Cora, loves all of his pack even when they condescend, when they take everything he says with more than a grain of salt, even when they've never really treated him as pack.

Loves them no matter how it tears at him on the inside.

(he keeps the memory of gloria's voice fondly calling him darling close and guarded)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Missed tags are appreciated and reviews are loved. :)
> 
> Also, still open to ideas and suggestions and if you have any questions, I'm willing to answer as long as the answer's not too spoilery.
> 
> (pst! i'm on [tumblr](http://poutingtrolltroll.tumblr.com/) wailing about writing at times and reblogging random shit most of the time)


	4. The Fourth Court

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well then. Maybe Beacon Hills wasn't so boring after all.  
> He's bored. So very, very bored.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go again. Still have no goddamn clue what I'm doing with chapter five but I thought you'd been left long enough. :D

**Then...**

***

Once upon a whisper, Winter changed irreversibly.

Once upon a rumour, Spring, Summer and Fall were ignorant.

Once upon a gossip, the Northern Winds sang of a Lone Ruler on a Frozen Throne.

*

It's been a few millennia since the War.

He's bored. So very, very bored.

And a bored Fae is a dangerous Fae.

********

**Now.**

***

When Peter gets to the house, it's to find Talia freaking out in that quiet, no-one-can-know way she learnt from their father. He doesn't even get a word out before Talia is dragging him away and locking them in her office. He just raises a brow and crosses his arms at her even more blatant than normal lack of manners.

She paces back and forth for a few moments before turning to him and hissing, with something almost like accusation in her eyes, "There are Fae in the forest."

His eyes widen. He hadn't expected that. No-one had seen Fae in the States since the beginning of the 1700s. _(though if the fae live as long as the legends say that wouldn't be all that long for them)_

"Are you sure?" He blurts out before he can think about it and Talia's reaction is predictable.

"AM I SURE?!" She screeches and then immediately afterwards, calm and regretful, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to shout but yes, I'm sure."

Well then. Maybe Beacon Hills wasn't so boring after all.

"Do you know which Court they're from?" There's an opportunity here, he knows. An opportunity for knowledge and maybe, if they are very lucky, an alliance.

Talia slumps in her chair. "No, we don't. There have only been a handful of sightings and of those it was only the last one where more than movement in the shadows was seen."

(he hears giggles like silver bells when he walks the preserve trying to wrap his mind around the idea of fae in hale territory)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Missed tags are appreciated and reviews are loved. :)
> 
> Also, still open to ideas and suggestions and if you have any questions, I'm willing to answer as long as I actually know what the answer is. :D
> 
> (pst! i'm on [tumblr](http://poutingtrolltroll.tumblr.com/) wailing about writing at times and reblogging random shit most of the time)


	5. Fifth Son

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's no heartbeat, no scent, the only way Peter knows he's there is the sight of him.  
> The fifth son of a fifth son has to pull himself up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooooo, I wasn't fucking kidding when I tagged this as slow to update. This is basically the rate I write plot-shit out at :D I do character study-ish one-shots because those are faster for me to write and usually come out at around 1k words.
> 
> But, umm, sorry it's been almost a year? Didn't realize it'd been that long xD and without further ado, enjoy. :)

**Then...**

***

The fifth son of a fifth son is nothing.

The fifth son of a fifth son has to pull himself up.

The fifth son of a fifth son can never be Noble.

*

He doesn't think about his family a lot.

He doesn't see his family a lot.

They didn't want a Soldier.

********

**Now.**

***

Peter opens the door and the man is just... _there_. There's no heartbeat, no scent, the only way Peter knows he's there is the sight of him. The man has plain brown hair and the sort of skin that makes you wonder if it's good genes or good skills. Peter has no idea who he is.

"I am here for Alpha Hale." The man's voice is like crunching snow under your feet.

Peter nodded and thought giddily, _This must be one of the Fae_. He showed nothing of that thought, only stepped aside and invited the Fae in with, "This way please."

\---

"You have a female Alpha? How... quaint."

The comment immediately got Peter's hackles up. Those sort of comments hadn't been appropriate, well, ever but it hadn't been possible to pass it off as polite for closer to a century now. Then again, incredibly long-lived if not immortal magical beings from another realm altogether... maybe he should be given some leeway.

(apparently the fae want permission to walk in the preserve and talia gives it. peter doesn't know what, if anything, she gets in return)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Missed tags are appreciated and reviews are loved. :)
> 
> Still no fucking clue where I'm taking this except for the fact I wanna work [this snippet](https://poutingtrolltroll.tumblr.com/post/164493640370/poutingtrolltroll-now-i-wanna-write-that-steter), probably re-written to some extent in somewhere. So, if you have ideas/questions/things you'd like to see, feel free to scream/shout at/tell me and we'll see if I can manage something with them. :)
> 
> (also, still on [tumblr](https://poutingtrolltroll.tumblr.com/), still wailing about writing and reblogging random shit, though less with the wailing lately i think)


End file.
